Failed coup takes toll on Turkey's foreign policy

Istanbul : The consequences of the failed July 15 coup in Turkey increased Ankara's international isolation, exposing shortcomings in the government's sometimes overambitious foreign policy, analysts say.

NATO member and EU membership hopeful Turkey had expected an outpouring of solidarity after the coup attempt one year ago aimed at ousting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which Ankara blames on the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen.

But ties with Brussels were bruised and Turkey's long-running EU membership bid set back as the European Union reacted with alarm to the post-coup purge that has seen tens of thousands arrested.

The US presidency of Donald Trump has so far also given no hope that Turkey has seen the end of the rancour that marked ties between Washington and Ankara under Barack Obama.

Meanwhile, the diplomatic crisis in the Gulf risks wrecking Turkey's efforts to keep a tight strategic alliance with Qatar without upsetting Saudi Arabia.

"Turkey has been somewhat isolated diplomatically since the July 2016 failed coup, both because NATO partners were taken by surprise and because the subsequent purge went far beyond anything that could be expected," said Marc Pierini, a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe.

"The crisis between Saudi Arabia and its allies and Qatar only adds to the host of problems Turkey is facing on the diplomatic front," he told AFP.